The portable flashlight has been used for many years to provide targeted illumination under a wide variety of circumstances. From the heavy duty lantern type flashlight which provides wide area lighting, to the pocket "pen" light, these devices share several common features: a light-emitting bulb, one or more batteries, a series of leads and contacts extending between the batteries and the bulb, and a switch for activating the light.
Advances in battery chemistry and light bulb and reflector design have made possible flashlights of greater illumination power in smaller packages. In some applications it is desirable to position the flashlight in a fixed location to direct a beam of light onto an area of interest, while leaving the user's hands free. Flashlights with bulb housings or heads which are pivotable allow a flashlight which is resting on a support or fixed to a user's garments to direct light onto a desired area. One approach has been to mount the entire flashlight, including the batteries, on a pivotable fixture. A more common approach is to have a mechanical joint which permits positioning of the head, and through which flexible wire leads extend to connect the bulb to the batteries. A wire lead presents several problems in a swivel head flashlight. First, if the head is capable of uninterrupted 360 degree rotation, continuous rotation may cause the wire lead to be twisted and eventually severed. In any event, frequent flexure of the wire leads can lead to fatigue and eventual failure of the leads, with the flashlight thus rendered inoperative. Other flashlights have moving contacts between the head and the body, but such lights permit rotation only about a single axis of rotation.
Flashlights with a center conductive pivot, which acts as both an electrical and mechanical connection between the light housing and the batteries are known. The narrow diameter of such pivots, however, tends to compromise the rigidity of the mechanical connection, making the flashlight prone to failure, especially if dropped or impacted.
What is needed is a durable flashlight with a head which is pivotable about multiple axes.